We don’t want to get photographed for the Aadhaar card in white dress, it will show us as prisoners. We don’t want Aadhaar enrollment, it will carry our details as criminals.

Our details will get into the system and we don’t want to be tracked.

These were the reservations of prisoners when Aadhaar enrollment authorities set up units in Parappana Agrahara Central prison to enroll prisoners. The dress and photographs being the main concerns, the prisoners were not willing to come under the permanent radar of the authorities with their data stored in the government’s repository.

How did they come around?

After much counseling and agreeing to change their shirts for the photograph session!

The 60 prisons in the state house nearly 14,209 prisoners and so far 14,148 prisoners have been enrolled.

Parappana Agrahara central prison houses the largest number of prisoners, 4,439.

The Centre for e-Governance which is handling the Aadhaar enrollments has appointed private companies for the job. The enrollment at Parappana Agrahara got completed recently and it was quite a task for the agency executives who had installed two units. Prisoners started resenting against getting photographed in their white uniforms. “Prisoners raised a fuss over the white uniform as their photographs would easily give out their identify as convicts. We convinced them and finally brought in two bright-coloured shirts for the enrollment sessions. We also gave an option to the prisoners to wear their own coloured clothes. And many of them did. Others would come into the enrollment unit, change their white shirt, wear the spare shirt and sit before the monitor,” says an official who handled the project.

The women convicts also changed their white sarees into colour sarees and got through the enrollment process.

According to senior officials, Aadhaar is also a way to keep track of the law breakers and enrolment of prisoners was taken up as high priority. “In future, when all essential services including flight and train bookings, bank accounts, are linked to Aadhaar numbers, the whereabouts of criminals will be under the scanner. With the police department using Aadhaar authentication, after their release from the prison, convict and under-trials will be tracked,” explained the official.

Identity crisis

The 60 prisons in the state house nearly 14,209 prisoners and so far 14,148 prisoners have been enrolled.

Parappana Agrahara central prison houses the largest number of prisoners, 4,439.

How will it help?

Aadhaar is also a way to keep track of the law breakers and enrolment of prisoners was taken up as high priority.

It is a tracking mechanism

In future, when all essential services including flight and train bookings, bank accounts, are linked to Aadhaar numbers, the whereabouts of criminals will be under the scanner. With the police department using Aadhaar authentication, after their release from the prison, convict and under-trials will be tracked.

Prisoner benefit

Once the prisoners get their Aadhaar cards, their families could use the card as a proof to obtained BPL cards and gas connections.

The Aadhaar number can be used as proof of address.

Aadhaar acknowledgment slip can be used by inmates to move bail application